'Snow Day' No Longer Means Day Off For Danvers Schools

DANVERS, MA — A pile of snow predicted for Thursday won't necessarily mean a day off for Danvers Public Schools students.

With Danvers Schools switching to remote learning as of Thursday due to rising coronavirus and staffing concerns, the district will keep all students in a remote learning day in place of a traditional "snow day" should this week's storm warrant school closures across the state.

"We provided an update at the school committee (Monday) night and will provide remote instruction on 'snow days,'" Danvers Superintendent of Schools Lisa Dana told Patch. "We also updated our school calendar back in September to reflect this change."

Dana said the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has informed schools that, at this time, it is allowing the use of remote learning if schools need to close due to inclement weather as part of the 170-day minimum.

Danvers joins Peabody, Salem, Newton and other state districts doing away with the day off in case of snow for at least the 2020-21 school year.

Most communities using remote learning in place of snow days say exceptions could be made in the cases of extreme winter weather causing power outages or other dangerous conditions that warrant schools going dark for the day.

More Patch Coverage: More Snow For More Parts Of MA In Latest Nor'easter Forecast

No More 'Snow Days' For Salem Public Schools